The Faerie Wood
by DisneyDancer997
Summary: Kim is heir to the throne and her her parents the strict rulers of the kingdom. Jack is a peasant, hired to guard her. Will love bloom or will lifes twists tear them apart? JackxKim
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

I awoke with blurry eyes, yearning to close them, to the sound of the people of my father's kingdom, rising at the crack of dawn to start their day. The birds sing outside my window, merrily flying through the brisk air as they eagerly await the beginning of spring. I rise from my slumber and make my way over to my wardrobe. I select a simple midnight blue gown that complements my pale skin and brown eyes. I sit in front of my looking glass and stare at the reflection mirroring me. My fingers work deftly to untangle my blonde hair so that my wavy locks fall naturally halfway down my back. My mother always used to insist that she employ someone to fix my hair for me, but I always declined this request so that I may have at least a small amount of independence. I walk down the corridor the kitchen and greet the servants that have always been my friends.

"Good morning, Elsa." I say to the head cook, who has always been like a second mother to me. I know my mother cares for me, somewhere, deep down. But she has never denied that she favors my brother, William.

"To you as well, princess. And what would the young lady like to eat on the eve of her sixteenth year?"

"Nothing, really. Just an apple will be fine, thank you." I reply.

"If you insist, but you need some meat on your bones, child." Elsa responded with a smile.

"Thank you." I said with a laugh as I walk out of the room. I make my way to the gardens and walk around, pulling my thick cloak around my shoulders tighter, in a vain attempt to avoid the crisp, winter breeze. I continue to do this for about a half hour, slowly eating my breakfast before one of my father's attendants came searching for me.

"Princess Kimberly, your father and mother wish to see you in the throne room."

I sighed and stood with a small smile. "Thank you, very much. please tell them I shall arrive shortly."

The page nodded and quickly left the garden. I walked towards the throne room slowly, stopping briefly in the kitchens to dispose of my apple core. I entered the throne room shortly thereafter. "Father. Mother." I curtseyed quickly. "You wished to speak to me?"

"Indeed, Kimberly. As we all know, your sixteenth birthday is tomorrow. Your mother and I have invited all the dignitaries from the neighboring countries and the villagers you like so much for a celebratory banquet and ball tomorrow. We are aware that such an event is not your favorite pastime and we have elected to allow you to visit the Faerie Wood, WITH a guardian, after the ball."

At this I grew excited. From all the time I spent at the castles library, I had read a great deal about the Faerie wood. It was supposed to be magical at midnight, with a lake and a dark mysterious forest where the Faerie-kind live. Supposedly, they come out at midnight dancing to their own special kind of music, so soft that the mere human ear can barely detect it. They exude a beautiful light in all the colors of the rainbow. It was supposed to be amazing.

"ON, one condition." My mother chimed in. "You must dress according to me, behave like the young lady your governess has instructed you to be, and allow Elsa and her attendants to prepare you to my standards. You will dance with the proper suitors and be polite to everyone you meet. You will be silent at the banquet and speak ONLY when needed. We will hear none of your opinions on any of the political matters your father discusses with the neighboring nobility. In other words, you will act like a lady. Do you understand?" She finished curtly.

I nodded. "Yes, mother, I understand." I waited to be dismissed. My father nodded and I curtseyed and left the room. This was going to be a very interesting birthday.

* * *

I walked to my room to retrieve a small pouch of gold, silver, and bronze coins, along with a small basket. I walked quickly through the corridors after collecting these items to one of the castles side entrances. I pulled my hood tightly over my face to cover it as to sneak out of the castle undetected. I slipped through the crack in security and walked several meters away before allowing myself to breathe. I relaxed as I walked slowly along the path towards the village, leaving my hood up as to avoid being recognized. I didn't want anyone to alert the guards. I love the villagers, but some of the have very loyal ties to my father. My best friend, Grace, lives in the village. Her mother is a seamstress and makes all my dresses. That's how we met, when we were four. My other friends, Milton, Eddie, and Jerry live in the village as well.

Milton being the son of the owner of my favorite book shop, we met when I was ten and he eleven. I met Eddie because his father runs the fruit and vegetable stand in the marketplace. I had stopped by one day, shortly after I had begun sneaking out, when I was eight, and had stopped by to buy an apple to snack on. I met Jerry a year after that at the palace because my mother had hired his mother to instruct me to dance before a ball. He had tagged along that day, having nothing else to do. Much to my mother's chagrin, I was terrible, but slowly got the hang of it through years of attending such events.

After I reached the marketplace, I stopped by the market to say hi to Eddie. I wouldn't see Jerry today, for he was off in the upper regions of the kingdom, in an attempt to train for knighthood. He would likely return the night before the day of the ball. That way, I'd at least have him, Milton, Grace, and Eddie to talk to when my parents weren't forcing me to socialize. I would see Milton when I went to pick up a new book. Grace would likely be there as well, which was good. I needed to talk to them. I adored Eddie and Jerry, but Grace and Milton always seemed to understand these sorts of things.

I hadn't realized how long I'd been thinking about my little hunch, and I stumbled upon the market. I made my way to the produce and saw Eddie.

"Eddie!" I said softly, as to not alert any other villagers to my identity.

"Hello Kim, what brings you to the market today?" He asked curiously.

"I was bored and lonely, so I snuck out again. I just wanted some friends to talk to." I said quietly.

"Well, you may need to go see Milton and Grace then, because my father wanted me to come help him with the harvest."

"But its winter." I said confused.

"True, BUT my father invented something he calls a 'greenhouse', which supposedly allows someone to grow plants during the off season." He replied.

"Odd. Hopefully it works; I'd love some strawberries around now." I said jokingly.

He laughed and told me goodbye. I walked to the bookstore and entered to see Milton and Grace talking about something.

"I'm telling you, Gracie, there is NO way Jerry is going to come back and decide that he is 'far too good for you to even CONSIDER taking you to Kimmy's birthday ball." Milton told her.

I giggled to myself. Gracie has loved Jerry for as long as I can remember and he loves her too. But they are both far too blinded to do anything but sit silently staring at each other and pining for something to happen. "Well it sure didn't take long for news of the ball to spread." I say, startling them.

Grace laughed after she had calmed down. "Nope, sure didn't."

"Listen, I need to talk to you two. But first, I need a new book. Milton, can you help me find something?"

"Sure." He said. Grace wandered off to one of the back rooms to look at some older stories.

As we perused the shelves, he finally spoke up after a few minutes.

"What are we going to do with them?" He asked, sighing dramatically.

I laughed. "I've no idea. One of these days, they are going to wake up and decide that their window of opportunity is running out and realize they're perfect for each other.

"You make a good point, Kimberly."

"Don't call me Kimberly!"

He laughed. "Whatever you say, princess."

I glared at him, but ended up rolling my eyes and laughing anyways. "Come on." I say, selecting a book. We walk back towards the front of the shop. Milton had an odd sense of knowing when I was coming to visit and he had closed the bookstore today. He ran it whenever his father wasn't here, and he had left a week ago, leaving Milton in charge of the store.

We found Grace and we all sat down on the chaise in the eastern corner of the shop.

"So what did you want to tell us?" Grace asked.

"Well, it's my parents. They have been acting really odd lately. Constantly examining me as if judging my actions and overall appearance. Plus, the birthday ball that everyone appeared to know about but me. It's just highly unusual for them to act like this. I'm worried. What are they up to?" I said.

Milton and Grace looked concerned.

"I've no idea." Said Grace.

"Me either." Added Milton, "Maybe they are just being parents, adjusting to the idea of their little girl turning sixteen.

I scoffed. "Please Milton, you know as well as I that my parents are not exactly the nurturing type." I pointed out and it was true. King Alexander and Queen Eleanor were never caring parents. They ruled their kingdom politically, not affectionately.

"You make a good point", said Milton, "Maybe you should sleep on it."

I nodded. He made a point. I thanked both him and Grace before exiting the shop. I was going along the street, scanning through my book as I walked. It was a fascinating book on ancient warrior technique from a far off and distant country. They called this technique 'Karate'. It interested me, so I flipped to the back of the book. There it said that there was one person who practiced this martial arts form, karate. It said his name was Rudy. It was scrawled in Milton's small, neat script, as if he'd known I would be curious and want to investigate further. It said that he lived on the west side of the village in a small building he called a dojo. It was a peculiar word, but I was still curious. I made a mental note to speak with Milton about taking me there tomorrow.

As I was walking I suddenly slammed into something. A person. I fell down and he turned to see what had run into him. It was a boy. A boy my age, if a little older. And a very handsome one at that. He had longish (for a guy) dark brown wavy hair and deep chocolate brown eyes with sort of tanned skin and a clearly muscular body, though not too muscular. Just right. I was stunned and didn't realize my hood had fallen until he had already seen who I was. His eyes widened and he knelt down mumbling apologies.

"P-Please, its fine, but my parents don't know I'm here and I will give you twenty gold coins if you DON'T tell anyone you've seen me!" I said rapidly.

He looked up and smirked, looking amused at my frazzled state. This irritated me. "What is so funny, pray tell?" I asked him, irritated.

"Nothing, Princess. I mere-"

I cut him off. "Don't call me princess."

"O-kay, then. Kimberly, I-"

I cut him off again. "OR Kimberly. Or Kimmy while we're at it."

"Well then, what shall I call you?" He asked, clearly amused.

"Kim is fine, thank you."

"Very well then, KIM. I apologize for standing in the middle of the road while you were so clearly walking on it. I shall not tattle on you for your little unapproved adventure. Is this settled, because I really must be getting home." He said to me, with that ever-irritating smirk still on his face.

I glared at him. "Fine."

"Fine." He said.

"Okay."

"O-kay."

"Well, goodbye." I said hurriedly. Then I left, but realized something. "Wait!" I called, turning around to see him already twenty feet away. "What's your name?" I shout, curious.

"Jack." He said without turning around.

Jack.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

I hurried home, but I couldn't get the infuriating boy out of my head. Jack. I've no idea what it is, but something about him stuck. Be it the entrancing pools of melted chocolate he had for eyes or his dark hair that was ever so tousled, and fell just the right way. The boy had charisma. I just had to give him that. As upsetting as it was, I had to admit the boy was…needless to say, attractive.

I reached the castle and hurried inside without being seen. I ran to my room and looked outside. T'was nearly twilight. I hurried to change and pin my hair up. I dressed in a deep red gown with gold embroidery, a square neckline, and three-quarter length sleeves. After I'd finished with my hair, I looked like a proper princess. Just like my parents wanted. I hurried downstairs and made it to the dining hall just before my parents walked in.

Being late to supper is one of the many, _many_, things my mother cannot stand. My father is more impervious on such matters. My mother and father came in and sat down silently. It was eerie, as they always seemed to be discussing _something _when they came to supper. The silence was highly unnerving, and likely had something to do with me, though I've no idea what, exactly. It reminded me of the calm before the storm.

They sat down, not meeting my eyes, no eye contact whatsoever. This was especially odd, as my mother seemed to always give me a once over, examining the gown I had chosen, the way I'd done my hair. Appraising me, making sure I was acting the proper princess I was supposed to be. Their silence was strange, to say the least. Very strange.

I spoke up. "Mother, Father, is something wrong?"

"No." My mother answered curtly.

I just nodded and finished my supper. Before I left, my father spoke for the first time all evening. "Don't forget about the banquet and ball tomorrow. Your mother has hand-picked two dresses. The first is for the banquet, the second the ball. Elsa will help you as to which one is which." I nodded and left the dining hall.

When I got to my room, I saw two dresses laid out on the chaise. One, which I presumed was for the dinner, as it was much simpler, was a royal blue. The other, far more elaborate, dress was a rich shade of violet and had delicate silver embroidery and silk roses on the draped sleeves. It was lovely, but far more elaborate than something I'd normally wear. This one was definitely for the ball.

I sighed and lay down, drifting into sleep.

I was shaken awake the next morning by Elsa. She was saying something that my sleep deprived brain was far too fogged up to decipher.

"Kim? Kim! KIM!" She shouted.

"Okay, okay, I'm awake." I grumbled.

Elsa just sighed and walked across the room to the door.

"I've drawn your bath and laid out your under gown, ring the bell when you're ready for me to do your hair. And don't even _think _about going back to sleep, young lady. You may be the princess, but I 'ave no qualms, whatsoever, about dumping a bucket of cold water on ye, ye hear me?"

I just nodded.

She smiled. "Oh, and happy birthday Kim."

With that, she walked out the door. I bathed and ran a comb through my hair and slipped on my undergarments and under gown, before sitting down, rolling my eyes, and ringing the bell.

Elsa walked in looking happy that I'd actually done what I was told, a seemingly rare occurrence. To her. In my own eyes, I was perfectly obedient. When I needed to be.

She twirled the ends around, enhancing the natural curl at the ends of my hair, and made me sit in front of the fire so it would dry faster. When it was dry, She pinned it in an elaborate up do with a few softly curled strands framing her face. The banquet would be at three o' clock and it was one o' clock now. I put my gown on and Elsa put some rouge on my cheeks and stain on my lips. I was declared ready and left to greet the guests with my parents.

* * *

When I arrived at the entrance to the main palace, my mother looked me over and nodded in approval. By then, the first guests had arrived.

"Good afternoon, Princess. And happy birthday." Said a duke from Ladon.

"Good afternoon, Duke." I replied politely.

This continued for about forty-five minutes. I greeted people from all over the land. Counts, dukes, duchesses, nobility, peasants. It seems the whole of the nearby kingdoms had turned up for this event. It was all a little overwhelming to be honest. My parents had never before held such a big event for just me. But I did as a proper princess should. I held my head high, smiled, and greeted everyone like an old friend. My mother should be proud.

By the time all the guests had arrived, it was nearly time for the banquet to begin. My father led everyone to the dining hall. When everyone had sat down, my father gestured to Elsa to alert the servers it was time for supper. Elsa nodded politely and walked quickly through the doors leading to the kitchens, and shortly afterward a flood of serfs carrying trays of decadent food burst through the door.

My father and mother had really gone all out this year. They were serving everything from roast duck and pheasant to delicate pastries with the smallest dash of cinnamon on top. Foods featured ingredients from far and wide, and there was enough to feed everyone in the room and more. The peasants who had attended tonight must be in shock. I am, and I have lived here my whole life.

The conversation in the banquet was lively, to say the least. My father talked about political and economic matters with the lord of Marburg and my mother was laughing softly at something a duke and duchess had said. All in all, everyone was merry. Except for me. I did as my parents instructed. I stayed quiet. My friends from the village were seated far away from me, as I was the birthday girl, seated on my mother's left. My elder brother, William, sat at my father's right. Such was tradition. I wouldn't see my friends until later tonight, at the ball, when everyone was free to move, dance, and socialize.

Everyone was talking and laughing when the hall suddenly quieted.

My father stood and held up his glass. "A quick toast, to my daughter. The birthday girl." I smiled. "Sixteen years ago you were born, completing our family. Sixteen years from now, and you'll have a family of your own. You have grown from an adorable little girl, to a proper, beautiful adult. Happy birthday, dear. We love you." He concluded.

Everyone burst into applause. I kept quiet with that same smile on my face. Yes, his speech was lovely. It was also for show. Ordinarily, they would never had proposed such a long toast about me. But my father wanted to remain well liked, so he did what everyone wanted to see. A toast, proposed to the birthday girl from the loving father. Don't get me wrong, I do love my parents dearly, but they are really not the nurturing type.

But still I smiled and clapped softly. That's what a good princess would do, and tonight I was supposed to be the epitome of a perfect lady.

When the last glass of wine had been drunk and the last bite of chocolate crème tart had been consumed, the banquet ended and allowed the guests to change. I went up to my room to find Elsa waiting for me.

"Time to get you changed, Kimmy."

I groaned. "Really Elsa? Am I five?" I asked her.

She just laughed. She finished helping me to get ready and noted that it was almost time for my grand entrance to the ball. I nodded and left the room.

* * *

I could hear merry chatter and laughter ringing from the grand hall below. It suddenly quieted. Showtime.

"Now presenting, her royal highness, princess of Ladon, Kimberly Crawford!" The crowd cheered and I walked down the grand staircase, smiling and waving as I was supposed to. By the time I had reached the bottom, the excitement had died down considerably. I made my way to my parents as they were telling the count of Wellingsworth about something or other. They smiled when they saw me.

"Kimberly!" My father exclaimed, "I'd like to introduce you to the count and countess of Wellingsworth."

"A pleasure to meet you." I said politely with a curtsy.

"To you as well princess. And may we say, happy birthday." Said the countess.

"Thank you." I replied as they walked away.

"Kimberly, I've had the calligrapher draw up a list of potential suitors and have it presented to the herald." She whispered. "You are to dance with each of them as the herald announces them."

"How many are there?" I asked in dread.

"Only fifteen." She replied.

Only. _Only. _That would take me nearly an hour! That was half the ball! Add in socializing and I would get to talk to my friends for…five minutes. I sighed glumly. "Yes, mother."

Suddenly the herald's voice rang through the room.

"Gregor Mendel of Macedonia."

This was going to be a long night.

I danced with Gregor and he honestly wasn't that bad. Tall, awkward, and nasally, yes. But not bad company. Maybe we could be friends one day. But right now all I wanted to do was talk to my real friends. The only thing that kept me smiling was thinking of my upcoming visit to the faerie wood. Hopefully it lives up to expectations. But even if it doesn't, it will still be an adventure.

I danced with twelve more suitors, names and details barely registering in my mind. By the fourteenth, I was exhausted. And I feel bad for the fifteenth. As much as I was trying to act interested and happy, he knew I wasn't having a good time.

At long last, the ball had ended. After the last guests bid their goodbyes, I rushed to the throne room. My mother and father looked up when they heeard me walk in.

"Before you go anywhere, you change." Said my mother.

Inwardly I groaned. I ran up the staircase and into my room. I quickly threw on a plain green dress and my thick winter coat.

When I rushed back into the throne room. My father looked up.

"Alright Kimberly, I suppose we had a deal. You will go to the faerie wood. You may stay until two hours after midnight, as it is your birthday present. You will be accompanied by one of the boys from the village. He has extensive combat training and has sworn to protect you should anything happen out there. I assure you though, if you step out of line regarding our rules, you will not leave your room for a week, do you understand.

"Yes, father. I understand. What are your rules?"

"One: Stay with your escort. He has agreed not to let you out of his sight for the time you are gone. Two: You will be back no later than two hours after midnight. Three: You will listen to the escort. Understood?"

Once again, I nodded. He sighed and turned to my mother.

"Kimberly," she asked, "do be careful. Alright?"

I smiled. "I promise, mother."

"Okay then." She said.

My father gestured to the side door of the throne room. The door opened and I heard whoever my escort was walk out. My father gestured for me to go. I turned around and faced the mystery boy, but was stopped in my tracks.

It couldn't be.

It's not possible!

Oh, but it was.

Jack.

**Argh, I hate this chapter...**

**But I hope you guys liked it!**

**Reviw pleaseeee!**


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